Earlier this afternoon White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and Acting OMB  Director Russell Vought held a press conference to brief reporters on the president’s fiscal year 2020 budget and answer questions on current political events:


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[White House] FURTHERING OUR ECONOMIC PROSPERITY: President Donald J. Trump’s budget request will continue our economic resurgence while furthering his vision to reduce spending and invest in America.

  • The Trump Administration’s pro-growth policies have unleashed the American economy, creating millions of jobs and resulting in historically low unemployment.
  • However, the national debt – currently more than $22 trillion – remains a grave threat to our economic and societal prosperity.
  • This budget will address the national debt crisis while still investing in critical American priorities that will allow America to further excel in the future.

RESPONSIBLE BUDGETING: President Trump’s budget request promotes responsible Government spending by prioritizing effective programs and cutting waste.

  • The budget reduces nondefense programmatic spending by 5 percent below the 2019 cap level.
  • Proposes policies to shrink or eliminate Federal programs that fail to deliver desired outcomes for the American people.
  • Reduces spending by $2.7 trillion over 10 years, shrinking the deficit from nearly 5 percent of GDP in 2020 to under 1 percent of GDP in 2029.
    • Puts the Federal budget on a path to balance within 15 years.
  • Sticks to the current discretionary spending caps while also providing additional defense resources through investments in Overseas Contingency Operations and emergency funding.
    • Allows us to fund our national security needs while avoiding a costly “cap deal,” which would increase defense and nondefense spending.

INVESTMENT IN AMERICA: President Trump’s budget request reflects his commitment to defending our Nation, ending the opioid epidemic, and building a strong American workforce.

  • $32.5 billion for border security and immigration enforcement activities to help manage the immigration crisis on the United States southern border, including:
    • $8.6 billion for the border wall, funded by Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
    • $478 million to hire 1,750 additional Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) law enforcement officers.
    • $2.7 billion in funding for 54,000 ICE immigration detention beds.
  • $750 billion for national defense – including $718 billion for DOD to pursue the National Defense Strategy.
    • Priorities include: strategic competition with Russia and China, countering rogue regimes such as North Korea and Iran, defeating terrorist threats, and consolidating gains in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • $80.2 billion to fund Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical care requirements in 2020.
    • Fully supports implementation of the historic VA MISSION Act to provide veterans greater choice on where they receive their healthcare, including at a private provider.
  • $330 million for the Department of Justice to aid State and local efforts to fight the opioid crisis.
  • The budget promotes quality education and job training, holds higher education institutions more accountable, and expands Pell Grants to high-quality short-term training programs.

(LINK)

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